Following in the footsteps of (IMO) the greatest season of the entire series isn’t an easy thing to do. Season nine holds it own though, and is a great season. If you’re a big fan of NO MA’AM and their antics it is very likely that you’ll love this season, since it contains no less than nine episodes that feature Al and the gang on their quest to enjoy themselves without the interruption of their wives.

In season nine we are introduced to one of the most well liked characters outside of the Bundy family and their neighbours that would be a recurring guest-star throughout the series – Griff! Griff is Al’s new co-worker at the shoe store and becomes a member of NO MA’AM in time as well. His inclusion is one of the greatest things about this season. I’m a very big fan of the Griff character, I think he’s hilarious and he works off of Al wonderfully.

In the first five episodes, not much is seen or heard of Peggy, who is visiting her family in Wanker County. We get to see short shots of her talking with the family on the phone, and sometimes we hear her voice, too, so she’s not completely absent. Jefferson has grown repulsed by the mere thought of having sex with Marcy, which is a first for the character who previously never minded having sex with his wife. In a sense, Jefferson becomes more like Al, much like Steve did after hanging out with him for a few years.

Aside from the No Ma’am episodes, we still get to see Al hang out with his gang of friends throughout the season. Most often it’s Al, Jefferson, Bob Rooney, Ike and now Griff that make up that gang of friends, which results in some hilarious episodes. Worth to note is that the 200th episode was filmed in this season and turned out to be one of, if not the best episodes of the season where we get to see Steve Rhoades once more. He also made another appearance in the spin-off attempted episode Radio Free Trumaine, which wasn’t half as good as the 200th episode Get the Dodge Outta Hell, but it’s always nice to see the character of Steve Rhoades back again.

I wouldn’t call this one of the best seasons of the show, but it’s definitely not one of the lesser ones. It’s very even in its quality and lies somewhere in the middle where I rank the seasons. I give season 9 a (fitting) 9-star rating based on the many classic episodes it gave us.

Looks like I'm in the minority on this again, I gave S9 a 6/10. I do like the intro of Griff & Gary & even Miranda Veracruz De La Hoya Cardinal, but this season just doesn't pack the punch of others for me. I do think Peg's entrance in "Business Sucks" is one of the best entrances ever & "Get The Dodge Outta Hell" is a classic.